Continuing Education

While many outside of the education field do not see it, teachers are continually expanding their education. Whether it is through professional development provided by the school district, self learning on a tool or strategy specific to their content area, or taking courses during their free time through a university or other facility. That's what I have done, a course during my free time. I have signed up to take a course called LEC Online & Blended Learning Certification.

Over the past 5 years I have used Moodle as an LMS. I was thrown into this with little to no training, learning mainly on my own via trial & error.  While I can honestly say I've come a long way since then, after our face to face meeting to begin this new course, I know I've got a long way to go. To be in education today, we must embrace technology and respect its role in our classrooms and a student's educational process.I have used Moodle as a means to get information to my students & have them turn in work, thus saving paper. I've considered this the start of a hybrid class, but boy, are there some HUGE components I am missing.

Providing links or documents to information for students to access is only part of an online course. My ultimate goal while taking this course is to find ways to engage students when they are not sitting in front of me. The absence of my physical self has to be my focus. Right now I can easily track down a student and have a conversation with them. This will not always be the case. How can I best "instruct" to students while they are at home? The media center? Or anywhere other than a typical classroom environment? AND how can I create meaningful & engaging interaction between myself and my students?  Building a community among my students is also a priority. Students are encouraged to rely on each other in my classroom, work together, ask each other questions, etc. This should not be any different in an online class. And it needs to be continuous throughout the course.

Now these goals are mine for my personal classroom. But I also want to be able to share, inspire and encourage my colleagues to enhance their current Moodle courses (or whatever LMS they choose to use) to incorporate these items. I am fortunate to work with some amazing people that embrace technology whole heartedly, and there are some that are tolerating its integration into the classroom. And of course, there are those that are content with their current status. Now, I am not so naive to think that all teachers in my district will ever embrace technology in the way that I do. I have to be realistic about my own expectations. Any growth is better than none at all, and my job is to encourage and support growth to the degree that a teacher is comfortable with it, and will see the benefit of it for their students.

I hope as I learn new technologies, I'll be able to share them with staff (and show them I am right there learning with them) in such an enthusiastic and infectious way that soon they'll start calling me the Pied Piper, I'll be leading staff off into the land of technology!

What? No Snow?

Have you ever gotten geared up for "the storm" that was scheduled to come, only to wake up to nothing? Dry streets, clear skies (as far as you can tell in the dark) and your phone NOT ringing with a call from the school telling you it's a snow day? Yeah, that was my morning today.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE coming to school everyday. I love my classes, I love my students, I love my job. But when that all powerful "what if" takes over your mind, and you go to sleep the night before, visions of all the things you could do tomorrow filling your head, only to wake up and find it's schedule as usual, honestly, you sort of think "Dang, would have loved a snow day".

I can only imagine what the students are thinking today. A group of 7th graders came into the media center 1st hour, loud as could be and full of energy. I'm thinking they were all wishing to be home building snow forts, snowmobiling, playing hockey today. Wonder what my 10th, 11th & 12th grade students are going to be like 2nd hour? Better fill my coffee cup before I go to class.......Hope you all are enjoying your Thursday!

Finding Balance

I recently participated in a #mnlead Twitter chat, and the topic was Balance. How many people think about this on any regular basis? By not addressing it, or even acknowledging that we need balance in our everyday life, our life between work and home turns upside down.

How many of you bring work home with you? If you're a teacher, my guess is at some point you have answered yes. Here's the more accurate question, how much work do you bring home? And how often? And how much time does it take away from your family or personal interests?  One hour's worth of grading vs. 4 hours are two entirely different things. When do you start this work and when do you stop? At some point in an evening there needs to be some down time, time to connect with yourself, your family, your spirit, your soul, or maybe the TV to catch up on current events. For me I need time to not concentrate on anything important, a brain dead activity like watching TV or playing solitaire on my iPad. This allows me to relax, unwind, and gear up for the next day.

If we do not take time every day to find a balance between work and everything else, we become engulfed in our jobs, and ultimately we suffer. Many people in this chat shared that because their children were young, it dictated their time at home to center around family and not work. That's Great!! Recognizing that your children need you, and being there for them, is the best choice you can make. Looking at life through the eyes of a child can bring everything into perspective. Others said they set aside time during their day to walk or work-out in some manner for their own health and to clear their minds. Most stated they had to schedule it and make it part of a routine or it wouldn't happen. One person even said they went for a walk around campus after lunch just to step away from their desk and refocus for the afternoon.  Myself, I get my workout in before school. I know my job and routine and if I don't do it then, it most likely doesn't get done, something will always seem to come up. If it happens I have time for a physical activity after school, then it's just a bonus!

While it's easy to set aside a textbook or stack of papers, and go to the store or shopping, out to eat or a movie, how easy is it to walk away from work when we are connected so closely through technology? How many of you check your school email on your phone? Do you get Social Media updates regarding school, classes or students that you check regularly? Are people texting you with school "emergencies"? With technology advancements, and integrating them into our courses, have we made it virtually impossible to disconnect from work? This became a hot topic because we were all over the place.

Some continuously check their phones because of notices they receive, some are trying to stay on top of emails (ever feel like you are on email overload?) most are checking devices throughout the evening & weekends, barely able to put it down for a family meal. STOP THE MADNESS!

What message are we sending our students & families if we don't care enough to have interests outside of our jobs to bring something personal back to the classroom? Don't we encourage our students to have other interests and hobbies besides what they learn in our class? I know I do, I want the kids to have time away from my course so they come back refreshed. I want my students to be kids as well, spend time with their families. I'm not going to give them some big project over a long break, I want them to have down time just like I do and I need that at times. Everyone needs balance, not just teachers. How are you going to encourage balance for your students?

How Important is SAMR?

For some time now I've been hearing about the SAMR Model, that this is THE guide for educators to follow when integrating technology.  While I believe in having some sort of guideline to help encourage and direct teachers to use technology in their classrooms, we can't forget the bottom line is student learning.

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I have made it my goal to visit with all PLC's in my building about SAMR and am encouraging them to include what technologies they are currently using as we update our backwards design units. There is so much integration going on in our district, but until an individual teacher has the opportunity to step back and look at their own work, they don't see it. SAMR will help them see how far they have come.

BUT (and this is a HUGE but) if a teacher is not making connections and building relationships with students, no amount of technology integration is going to make their lesson better, more retained in the student's memory, or develop of love of learning in a particular content for any student. We can't get wrapped up in things like SAMR or TIM (Technology Integration Matrix) if there is not a clear direction behind them (via +Brent Catlett from #nebedchat), and that should always be student learning, innovation, and achievement.

So while you're worrying about how you're going to integrate the newest and coolest technology tool into your classroom, step back and ask yourself "Is this going to help me develop a new connection with my students?" If it's just for show, or for your administration, why are you doing it? Keep student achievement the top goal for everything you do.

Information Overload from TIES13

So I've just spent the last 2 days at the TIES Conference in Minneapolis taking in anything I could about technology, visions and ideas of what other districts are doing.  As always it was AMAZING! Now I'm coming down from the tech high and trying to sort through and organize everything so I can share it with the rest of my staff so they have the same enthusiasm and excitement that I have.

I heard Angie Kalthoff share ways to use Google Forms. Besides just for assessment, we need to be integrating these with our office staff to make their work load easier and gather more demographic  information electronically. Permission slips for field trips? How many times has a student lost this? Well it won't happen electronically!

Mark Garrison gave his annual presentation 50 Sites for Great Teaching. I love listening to Mark talk, his energy is infectious! If you ever have a chance to hear him, don't pass it up. And I felt great that some of the things he presenting I was already using! Yeah for Me! (Toot my own horn a little bit!)

Kris Szajner is doing some great things to change how schools are using Professional Development to engage more teachers.  Are we doing PD that brings teachers forward and challenges them? We expect our students to do this, why do we not expect the same from our teachers? What's missing in PD today? Continuous learning and ongoing conversations. Social Media connections are one way to achieve this, but we need to think outside the box and find more ways for this to happen. If you're into Twitter chats, Kris was one of the creators of #mnedchat, Tuesday nights, 8PM Central time.

Highlight for me was George Couros. As I sat with one of my colleagues in his Tuesday session, she said he was the only presenter that could bring tears to her eyes as she listened to him speak. Shouldn't all of us in education be able to do that when they talk about our students, our classes, our passion in education? He asked questions like "Why is it bad if a students brings a device into the classroom?' If it is, there's a problem with this (and being a 1:1 school, there shouldn't be any issues with this right?) Communicating with parents is key, and utilizing social media outlets will increase our chances of connecting with them (meet them where they're at right? Just like the kids).

Now this question he posed got me thinking, Why don't we invite parents to conferences like TIES? Not teacher/parents, but just parents, who have kids in our district? Why would we not want them to learn what we're learning? We should be on the same team, driving down the field for a better education for "our" kids. This is an area I plan to do better. I want to work with the parents in our district to give our students the best education possible, I want them to be more successful in life than they thought could ever be possible.

Where do I go from here? I know I need to continue to be passionate about what I do everyday, I need to develop an infectious passion that others will want to follow, I need to inspire my colleagues to always keep in mind, everyday we need to be doing what's best for kids! So #FmtCards, who's with me?

Things I'm Thankful For

Whenever November rolls around, everyone suddenly seems to remember to be thankful for what they have.  While I choose to believe many are truly thankful all year long, the month of Thanksgiving, coinciding with social media and our need to publicize, makes being thankful appear more prominent. I think it's easy to come up with the standards: family, friends, health, etc., and I am thankful for all those things too, don't get me wrong, but when I look around school and the people I spend the majority of my waking hours with, I need to tell them as well.  Every one of  these people have truly changed me for the better. 

We spend more time on average with our co-workers than our own families, but do we include them in our thanks?  Do we think about all that a co-worker does for us?  Or how that relationship develops over time and grows?  We all have people that want us to be better, see the bright side, glass half full, etc., but how many really push you beyond your limits?  Push you to be better than you thought you could?  I work with a number of people like that, and even on my worst day, when I think to myself why am I doing this, I'm so thankful these people have found their way into my life.  Many of my closest friends started out as colleagues, and even as I have changed districts and positions, I have worked to keep those relationships because these people are important to me. 

So since it's November, I figured I would jump on the bus and proclaim my thankfulness to a few of my current colleagues.  While this list of mine should include so many more people, both current and previous colleagues, I broke it down to just a few that made a difference in my professional and personal life at Fairmont.

My Administrators:   Kim is my principal this year, but has been my colleague from the math department for the previous 5 years.  She has been my professional go to person.  I know I can't go to her and let off steam and have it end there, she's going to talk me around, away from the dark side, and help me always see that what we're doing is what's best for kids, which is why I do what I do.  She reminds me of this, and understands there are days we all want to fall below the line, and takes it upon herself to pull me back up above that proverbial line.   Kim replaced Dave, who was our principal the prior 2 years, but was also the district Technology Director and Curriculum Director.  I continue to work with Dave this year as he mentors me in my new position and through the area service co-op.  Dave's knowledge of technology, and calm, level headed demeanor are attributes I aspire to.  He reminds me to step back and look at the big picture, make decisions based on information not feelings, once you make a decision own it (good or bad), and remember that not everyone will like what you have decided.  I am fortunate to have these leaders in my profession and my school district.  Thank you Kim and Dave for being the leaders you are. Thank you for leading me in an upward direction in my career.  Thank you for being who you are and allowing me to be your colleague.

My Colleague:   You know that colleague that is always doing something a little more?  They are the first to speak up about a new topic at a staff meeting because they've already done research on their own and can provide insight?  They're trying new things in their classrooms, scores are improving, etc. Well for me, that's how I see Patti.  She pushes me professionally to be better in all aspects of my job, not just my content area.  She embraces technology, which I love, she's switched over to a more standards based grade book, attends multiple conferences, has been my observer for Q-Comp, and is always sharing what she's doing, that's the best part!  When she learns or hears about something new, I know there are several people on staff that she's going to share it with, myself included.  And then......she checks back in with you to see how the new stuff is going! WOW!  Talk about pressure!  You mean you weren't just telling me this for me to file away somewhere and forget about it?  You seriously want me to do something with it?  DANG!  Well, guess I better get to work, but first.....Thank you Patti for making me think about education in new ways.  Thank you for being a great role model to follow.  Thank you for sharing new technologies that you are learning. Thank you for being you and allowing me to be your colleague, and friend.

My Confidant: When I first started teaching at Fairmont, I felt alone in my little suburb of the building, as I so fondly referred to my classroom.  People were friendly enough, but everyone was just going about their days and I was not feeling a connection with anyone, not really.  Then came Sara.  She is my Suzie Sunshine.  She is that teacher that always has a warm smile and open arms, the kids radiate to her.  I was teaching a large number of junior high age sections of technology at the time, but my preference had always been high school students.  Sara taught 7th grade Language Arts and helped me focus on seeing the humor and joy in their quirks.  It brought me to the point of truly enjoying the goofy, uncontrollable things that happen when you have 30 7th grade students in a room of computers!  Sara has her hands in so many activities at school, it's called the "I Can't Say No" syndrome so many are familiar with.  I admire her perseverance to be involved, and her persuasive personality that has gotten me involved as well.  I've been out of the coaching scene for many years, but have done Knowledge Bowl and BPA, and completely enjoy getting to know students outside of the classroom. Sara is in charge of Student Council, and I can still remember the conversation that got me involved as well, but I don't think I've ever thanked her for including me.  It's been a great experience, and a reminder to me that I need to do more.  Since that first year at Fairmont Sara has become one of my closest friends outside of school as well.  I have always firmly believed that we are put places for a reason, and people are brought to us when we need them most.  I don't know what turns my life might have taken had I not met Sara, I'm thankful I did not have to find out.  Thank you Sara for being an outstanding, personable, outgoing person.  Thank you for being my colleague, my friend, my confidant.  Thank you for allowing me to be your friend.  Thank you for being you!

My PLN:  As I said earlier, people come into your life when you need them most.  In this case, it is a group of people.  I have only met a few of them face to face, but consider them all my colleagues and I go to them for technology and professional development.  These are the people of my Twitter PLN #nebedchat.  It was a complete leap of faith that I got started "attending" this chat, but it has helped me to grow professionally in so many ways that I cannot imagine continuing my professional career without it.  I encourage everyone to find that PLN that helps them excel as a teacher.  Thank you to all of #nebedchat for inviting an outsider with such open arms and minds.  Thank you for allowing me to grow as an educator.

I have only touched the surface here, I am surrounded by a building full of people I am thankful for everyday.  I could go on forever listing individuals that I am thankful for, but now it's your turn.  Dig deep, what are you thankful for that has changed you? What has made you a better person? Have you taken the time to tell them?

Things Teachers Aren't Taught in College

There are so many times that students come to us with bigger things in their lives than we can imagine, and many times we have no idea the specifics of the baggage they bring.  Tonight I went to a visitation for 2 of my students's mother.  She passed away last week, having suffered from cancer.  While we all knew at school that she was ill and fading more quickly than any of us could imagine, I cannot fathom what these boys are going through now.

They have put on such tough exteriors through it all.  They had bracelets made to show their support, of which I purchased one and have proudly worn since the day I bought it.  They were not absent excessively and did their best to stay on top of what their teachers were asking of them in the classroom.  Many times I just wanted to stop them and give them a hug and assurance that there are so many people in our building who care for them, are available for them if they need anything at all.

I was able to tell them tonight to reach out to their school family, lean on us all when they need to, and know that we all love and care for them very much.  I was able to give them their hugs, real hugs, tight hugs, so they knew I was not just saying the words, I truly felt and believed them.  It was all I could do to not let the tears welling up in my eyes run down my cheeks.  That's what a teacher feels.  They feel love for their students, they share their triumphs and heartaches  They don't teach us this in college, that's just who we are, we're born this way I believe, and when we need to be compassionate and show our feelings.  We need to show compassion so students know this emotion is out there, that it's real.

As I drove away from the funeral home tears fell down my face.  I'll say extra prayers for these students tonight, and every night for quite some time I feel, as well as all my students carrying baggage I'm not aware of.  May all my students know how important they are to me, how much they mean to me, and how much I pray for them to have lives full of happiness.